The harrowing case of 10-year-old Sara Sharif came to a close as her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were sentenced to life imprisonment for her brutal murder.
Sara endured over two years of horrific abuse, culminating in her death at the family home in Woking, Surrey, last year.
According to BBC, Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was also found guilty of causing or allowing a child’s death and received a 16-year prison sentence.
At the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Cavanagh described Sara’s treatment as “torture” and the cruelty inflicted on her as “almost inconceivable.” Sharif must serve at least 40 years behind bars, while Batool faces a minimum term of 33 years.
In his sentencing remarks, Justice Cavanagh told Batool: “You did not stand in Urfan Sharif’s way. You encouraged his assaults.”
In a poignant statement read in court, Sara’s mother, Olga Domin, described the defendants as “sadists” and said, “Even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners.”
Paying tribute to her daughter, she said: “She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven. She is no longer experiencing violence. I had hoped we would reunite when she grew up, but that hope is now gone.”
The trial revealed shocking details of Sara‘s suffering, including six probable human bite marks, scalding from hot water, and an iron burn. Her body, discovered by police on 8 August last year, bore dozens of injuries.
Next to Sara’s lifeless body, which was found in a bunk bed, police discovered a note written by Sharif confessing to the murder: “Whoever see this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating.”
Initially, Sharif claimed the note and a subsequent phone call confessing to the crime were false statements intended to protect Batool. However, under cross-examination, he dramatically reversed his position and accepted full responsibility for his daughter’s death.
